Gratitude
by storm-aurora
Summary: Green Oak is finally back in Kalos and ready to start his family. The trouble is, someone important is missing...


**A/N: A sequel to my last fic, "A New Family", which basically gives the context for this fic. I'd like to write more stuff in this universe if I actually had an idea of what to write...but anyways, I hope you enjoy this little bit of SpikedShipping/Dad Green fluff.**

Charizard glides towards Vaniville Town, completely silent except for the wind blowing against him and the occasional flap of his wings. His Trainer is perched upon his back, green eyes scanning the landscape beneath them for a familiar landmark. Finally, he spots the mansion-like Battle Maison of Kiloude City, confirming that they have indeed entered the Kalos region once more.

"Charizard, begin descent," Green commands. Vaniville and Kiloude aren't that far apart. Obediently, his lizard partner starts to lose altitude so they can land in the town that they will now call their home.

When they arrive over the town, Green spots a familiar brunette wearing her signature snow-white coat and boots standing out front of a house - their house. When she catches sight of him, she breaks into a wide smile and waves at him. Green's pulse quickens slightly and he smiles back. He jumps off Charizard's back as soon as he is close enough to the ground to dismount.

"Good afternoon, Diantha," Green greets her. "It's nice to see you again."

"I'm glad to see you, too," Diantha replies. "Shall we go inside together?" she asks, gesturing towards the house beside them.

"After you," he says cordially.

They walk up the cobblestone path leading to the doorway. Diantha knocks on the door and waits a minute before trying the doorknob. It's locked. "Good, he's sensible enough to lock the door," Green comments as Diantha knocks again.

As they wait for the door to open, a female voice calls from behind them, "Mr. Green! Ms. Diantha!"

The pair turn around and see a Sky Trainer and a Fletchinder swooping towards them. The Sky Trainer pulls her arms closer to her body to let the air catch on her suit and slow her down, allowing her to land softly in front of Green and Diantha. She pulls off her helmet to let a medium bob of blonde curls fall out. "I thought you guys were coming later," she says, a little out of breath. "As your new neighbor, I ought to welcome you to Vaniville Town!" she adds.

"Thank you, Y," Diantha says. "Don't worry, we haven't been here long."

"Are you waiting for X to open the door?" Y guesses. "He still ignores it sometimes. Force of habit, I suppose. Allow me."

Y slips between Green and Diantha to stand on the doorstep, then bangs on it a few times. "Hey! X!" she yells. "Your parents are here!"

The words sound almost foreign to Green. He still hasn't gotten used to the fact that he is now, legally speaking, a parent. He always figured his sister would be the first to have children; he feels a twinge of childlike arrogance that he beat her to it. But his legal son doesn't appear; the door stays firmly shut.

"That's weird," Y mutters.

"Could it be that he's not at home?" Diantha surmises.

"He should be," Y says, frowning. "But...it's not like him to ignore the door when it's someone he knows."

"Do you have any idea where he would be?" Green asks.

Y folds her arms thoughtfully. "He told me he was going to Aquacorde Town this morning," she finally says. "I guess he could be there still."

"Then let's go to Aquacorde Town and look around," Green says. "Unless you think it's more likely that he's just not answering the door."

"No, I think we should check Aquacorde Town," Y says, walking away from the house. "Head around the corner here and look for the town gate. Aquacorde Town's a straight shot down Route 1 from there."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Diantha asks.

Y glances over her shoulder at the two adults. "I'm going to tell my mom where we're going," she explains. "So in case something happens to us, she'll know where to look."

"Good idea."

Y puts her helmet back on and nods at her Fletchinder. It flies to a spot a few feet ahead of her. With practiced ease, she runs towards it and jumps, spreading her arms wide; Fletchinder rolls over and blasts a gust of air upwards, giving Y a boost so she can glide away, and Fletchinder flies after her.

"She's a good friend," Diantha remarks. "I'm glad we'll be seeing more of her."

"She has a level head. Good leadership quality," Green agrees.

Green and Diantha follow Y's directions and quickly arrive in Aquacorde Town. Unsurprisingly, Y beats them there despite her detour. "I'm thinking we should split up and look for him," she says. "What do you think?"

Green nods in agreement. "Keep your Pokémon out, though," he advises. "We don't need you disappearing, too."

After a brief discussion, they decide that Green will search the northwest side of the town, Diantha will search the northeast side, and Y will search the south side. Green and Diantha will meet at the fountain in the center of town in an hour, from where they'll meet back up with Y at the south entrance to the city. And so, the unlikely trio - Champion, ex-Gym Leader, and Sky Trainer - split up and begin their search for the Junior Trainer Tournament Champion.

But even after spending an hour scouring the whole west side of Aquacorde, Green's efforts have yielded no success. Irritation prickles at his skin as he returns to the center of town, where he is inexplicably relieved to see Diantha returning at the same time. Unfortunately, she hasn't had any luck finding X either. "I'm a little worried," she admits. "He's not the type to go off on his own without telling anyone, unless it's potentially dangerous."

"Don't be," Green assures her. "The kid has a natural talent with Pokémon. As long as he has them with him, he can get safely out of any situation."

This statement surprises Diantha, who knows that Green doesn't give praise lightly. But her surprise quickly morphs into a smile; she appreciates Green's ability to give a practical assessment of the situation. She's normally pretty good at that herself, but in the past few months she's started to develop a bad habit of getting caught up in fantasies that can cloud her judgement of reality. "You're right," she says. "And for all we know, Y may have found him. So, let's go meet up with her."

But as they head towards the staircase that leads to the south section of town, Green realizes that Diantha has slowed her pace and he slows down to match it, until it reaches the point that they aren't moving anymore. He looks at her questioningly, and she stares at the ground, a contemplative look on her face. Finally, she looks up at him and asks, "Green...why did you agree to do this with me?"

"Do what?"

"I mean, coming out here to live in Kalos with X and me," Diantha clarifies. "You left your home and came all the way out here just to look after a kid who you've only met a few times...why?"

Green takes a moment to consider her question. It isn't one he had ever really asked himself, and he supposes it's because the answer is so simple. He didn't come here just for X. He missed the beauty of the Kalos region, the diverse people and Pokémon that inhabit it, and most of all, he missed the beautiful woman standing in front of him. The only way he can really put it into words is, "I just felt called to, I suppose."

Diantha smiles and gazes fondly into Green's eyes. "Thank you for answering that call," she says, pulling him gently into a hug. She feels him tense up for a moment before relaxing and wrapping his arms around her as well. As they continue their embrace, she murmurs into his ear, "I love you."

Green only hesitates a moment before he softly replies, "I love you, too."

There's a moment of peace between them, and it feels sweet; however, Green slowly pulls away, not being the type to linger in contact with another for too long. But they can linger in each other's presence, comforted by the veil of pure happiness that envelops them, if only for a short time. Peace never seems to last more than a moment with people like them.

This time, their peace is interrupted by a distant yell. "What the hell were you thinking, X!?"

Green glances up the stairs. "It sounds like our missing child has been found," he observes.

Diantha nods, lingering in that moment of pure, uninterrupted happiness for a moment longer. Green stays by her side until she starts up the stairs; even when they aren't in a physical embrace, they still feel some of that mysterious dimension to companionship in each other that one may call love.

A different shade to that dimension greets them at the top of the stairs. Y is throttling a boy with straight black hair and pale skin, yelling, "It's a completely different story when you lie about where you're going!" Green and Diantha approach them calmly, but only X notices them.

"Calm down, Y," Diantha chastises her gently. She jumps in surprise and looks up at Diantha. "There's no need to get so worked up about this."

"No need to get so worked up about this?" Y repeats angrily, but she lets go of X's shirt and takes a step back. "But he told me that he was going to Aquacorde Town, when he really went to Glittering Cave! He made us all worry for nothing!"

"I did go to Aquacorde Town," he protests. "But I went to Glittering Cave after that. And then it took me longer than I expected, so I flew straight home and Ms. Grace told me you guys were looking for me. So, I finished what I was doing and I came back..."

"Isn't Glittering Cave in Coastal Kalos?" Green asks, frowning. "You really shouldn't go someplace so far away when you're expecting company. It's quite rude, you know."

"Oh, you're one to lecture on rudeness," X mutters under his breath.

Green folds his arms. "I appreciate that you came to find us, but I still expect an apology, young man," he says sternly. Wow, did he sound like his grandfather.

"Cut him some slack, Green," Diantha says teasingly. "You've only been here for an hour."

"What were you doing in Glittering Cave that was so important, anyways?" Y asks accusingly.

"I, um, I needed some Luminous Moss," X says, not meeting anyone's eyes. His face has turned pink. "F-for...um...well, maybe I should just show you..."

The foursome walk back to Vaniville Town together, X and Y leading the way. Y, having apparently gotten over her anger at X, tries to hook her arm in his, but he keeps it firmly pressed to his side. Y glances back at Diantha and sees that she has linked her arm through Green's and he silently accepts it, which strengthens her resolve. Y eventually manages to pry X's arm away from his body long enough for her to slide hers in between, and they continue in that awkward manner all the way back to town.

They stop by Y's house first to let Grace know that they've returned with X, allowing Green and Diantha to meet Y's mother properly for the first time. She expresses her gratitude for taking X under their wing, and then the four head to X's house. He unlocks the door and puts his hand on the handle, but doesn't open it. "I, um, I wanted to thank you for doing this for me," he mumbles to the door, hiding his red face. "I'm...I'm not very good at giving gifts, but...um, I hope you like it..."

The door swings open, and Green gets his first look in person at the inside of their new home. He's pleased to see that the house looks exactly as it did in the pictures X sent. It's spotless and orderly, and everything in it looks brand new. Of course, it was rebuilt less than a year ago, so that's not surprising. It's rather large for one person to be living in, but the perfect size for three.

X directs their attention to the coffee table in the living room, on which sits a translucent white and green vase filled with an assortment of pink flowers. They have been carefully arranged and decorated with Luminous Moss, making them sparkle like blown glass. "Oh, X, it's beautiful," Diantha gasps.

"I picked the flowers out myself," he says, fidgeting with the Mega Ring on his wrist. "Deptford Pink, Sweet William, Maiden Pink, Sequier's Pink, and Carnation, of course."

Y nudges him playfully. "Nerd."

His face reddens, and Green says, "So you were putting this together all morning?" X nods, and Green chuckles a little, saying, "Well, you did a good thing, kid."

He moves to give him a pat on the head, but Diantha suddenly sweeps them all into a big group hug. Y hangs back, feeling a little awkward, but Diantha invites her into their circle. And they all stand, hugging each other, sharing in that little piece of happiness - an Oak family hug.


End file.
